H.R. 1816 · Where this bill is now
In the Senate
Passed the House Jun 3, 2025. Received Jun 4, 2025; no Senate vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryTightens rules on women-owned business certifications
The federal government sets contracting goals to work with women-owned small businesses. Right now, some uncertified businesses count toward those goals. This bill would only count businesses that have been officially certified by the Small Business Administration, a state government, or an SBA-approved certifying organization. Businesses that are in the process of getting certified would still count temporarily while they wait for a decision.
How it affects you
Women-owned small business owners will feel this most directly. If you own a women-owned small business, you'll need official certification to be counted when federal agencies are trying to meet their contracting goals with women-owned businesses. The bill also requires the Small Business Administration to give quarterly updates to Congress about how the certification process is working.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Mar 3, 2025)
WOSB Accountability Act
This bill requires that only women-owned small businesses that have been certified by a federal agency, state government, or national certifying entity approved by the Small Business Administration (SBA) are included when calculating whether a federal agency has met its contracting goals with respect to such businesses during a fiscal year.
Certain self-certified, women-owned small businesses that have filed an application for certification are deemed to have been certified until the SBA or national certifying entity makes a determination with respect to the certification of such business.
The SBA must provide a briefing each quarter about specified aspects of the process of certifying women-owned small businesses and implementing the requirements of the bill.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 1816
AN ACT
WOSB Accountability Act
Sponsor: Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7) · Introduced Mar 3, 2025 · Commerce · 4 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jun 4, 2025: “Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.”